Chuck's Choices for the weekend of May 11, 2012

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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New this week:

Rachel Wallace and Case Dillard as
Mary Poppins and Bert

Peabody Opera House presents the classic musical Mary Poppins through Sunday. The staging looks a bit cramped at times, especially in the big ensemble numbers, and the show itself feels a bit too long, but on the whole it truly is a jolly holiday with Mary Poppins, thanks to solid production values and a great cast. Check out my complete review for 88.1 KDHX. For more information, visit peabodyoperahouse.com or call 314-622-5420.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents Michael Feinstein in concert on Sunday at 2 PM at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. Mr. Feinstein surely needs no introduction. He's a walking encyclopedia of popular music and a smooth cabaret artist. I don't know how well his act will play in the symphony hall, but I expect he's gotten pretty good at adapting it without losing the intimacy. For more information, visit stlsymphony.org.

Held over:

Stray Dog Theatre’s production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America continues this this Thursday through Sunday with Part 1: Millennium Approaches. Next week they’ll conclude the run by presenting Part 2: Perestroika again. These are beautifully written plays and the Stray Dog production has gotten strong notices (see Andrea Braun’s reviews of Part 1 and Part 2 at the KDHX site). I’m attending the final two weekends myself. Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995.

The Black Rep presents August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom through Sunday. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. Writing for us at KDHX, Connie Bollinger praised the “convincing, flawless performances” of the principals and the “finessed, punch-to–the-gut impact” of the both the play and the production. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Memphis through Sunday. At a time when far too many Broadway musicals are either theme parks or retreads, "Memphis" stands out by offering an intelligent book with a message of hope and decency amid hate and fear, a solid score, and terrific performances. Inspired by the life of 1950s Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips, whose “Red, Hot, and Blue” radio show was one of the first to bring black music to the attention of white audiences, “Memphis” is the story of the struggle to integrate American music and popular culture. It’s a struggle that mirrored the parallel battle playing out in the political arena. You can see my complete review for KDHX here. The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678.

Speaking of cheesy tech....

Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre (the bastard love child of St. Louis Shakespeare) presents Star Trek: Live! Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM through May 19, at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar in University City. The show is presented in cooperation with the St. Louis Science Center's Star Trek: The Experience Exhibit. Visitors to the exhibit receive a “buy one, get one free” admission to any 10:30 performance. If you’ve seen a Monkey show in the past, you know what to expect: deliberately and often hilariously cheesy tech, consciously hokey acting, and an attitude of nose-thumbing irreverence. For more information, visit stlshakespeare.org.